Walking backwards: It’s a specific and unique skill set developed by a small, but mighty group whose mission is to convince prospective students that UNLV Engineering is the place to be.

“It's hilarious when we hit something — I promise you, I laugh too,” said Taylor Gauthier, lead Engineering Student Ambassador (ESA), as she toured a small group of soon-to-be UNLV students through the Advanced Engineering Building. “But please let me know if we’re going to hit something, especially stairs. That's a step too far in my opinion.”

Gauthier’s opening instruction as she began the Friday afternoon spotlight tour was also paired with another request: Ask questions. 

“Derail us,” she said. “Let’s go on a completely different tangent. It's so much more fun that way. This is your tour.”

The ESA program and their student-led tours are a signature part of the College of Engineering’s recruitment effort. The program is also one of the contributing factors in the college achieving its highest enrollment milestone ever — 700 first-year students entered the college in fall 2025.

“What makes the ESAs so successful is their ability and pride in showing students what they’re doing in the labs, in the classrooms, and showing them around the institution,” said Barb Roberts, acting senior vice provost for Academic Affairs and associate vice president for Enrollment Management. “They’re showing prospective students what it's like for them to be here on campus.”

Unlike traditional recruiting which usually involves a professional employee attending a college fair and giving a structured presentation to catch as many students as possible into the “net,” Roberts says the ambassadors are experts at “spear fishing.”

“They're the ones who can go in with a very finely tuned spear, and they’re going to hit at exactly the thing that that one particular student needs because they're talking from their own student perspective,” Roberts said, adding that hearing from other students can inject authenticity into the peer-to-peer interaction.

This surfaces often, according to Rachel De Vera, the engineering undergraduate recruitment coordinator who leads the student team.

That team includes Keziah Blundell, an ESA and an entertainment technology and design major, who has convinced many prospective students to join her in the entertainment engineering program.

“You have someone who comes who says they want to do ‘blank’ major,” Blundell said. “I do the presentation and their eyes light up when I start talking about entertainment engineering. They’re like, ‘I didn’t even know this was a program. What do you mean this is in my backyard?’”

While other colleges on campus employ a similar ambassador model, Roberts, said, many only have one student dedicated to the effort. She would like to see other academic units to invest more deeply in the ambassador model. And, if they did, they would have a strong blueprint to follow in Engineering, Roberts noted.

Since 2015, the ESA program has grown and expanded, with the team now boasting nine student members and six others currently in training. But now, expansion of current efforts could be in jeopardy with the loss of a major funding source this spring. While they search for additional funding sources, and with the support of college leadership, De Vera and her team are committed to keeping the momentum going. Their eyes are on welcoming an even bigger first-time class this coming fall.

Inspiring Students to Choose STEM

When De Vera started, the ESA team comprised four students with limited availability, which made it more difficult to visit the schools and attend the events for prospective students. Under her leadership, the team has grown and each ESA earns $18 per hour plus a $500 scholarship upon completion of 85 service hours. Most ESAs fulfill over 100 hours each semester.

With the additional investment, the team has diversified its outreach to more students, beyond just the traditional technical academies, and also connected with students at the middle school level.

“We are lucky in finding students that really care about the cause,” said De Vera, adding that Gauthier has set a strong example for newer team members with her zeal for getting students interested in STEM.

“It’s been monumental to our success,” she said. “My strongest belief is that students don't join schools; recruitment is really students joining people that they connect with, that they see themselves in. We do our best to be a very diverse team with open minds that are willing to learn and go the extra mile to really inspire students to choose STEM.”

On most Fridays, you can catch Gauthier, a senior double majoring in computer science and math, energetically showcasing what sets the UNLV College of Engineering apart from other engineering programs.

“We very much care about water research here. Vegas is a desert, but we actually have some of the best water treatment centers in the entire world,” Gauthier extolled as the group stopped by AEB’s third-floor research lab.

Earlier in the tour, her eyes widened with excitement as the group stopped outside of AEB’s Maker Space and she passed along a sample of a 3D-print in the shape of a tiny banana made from medical-grade filament. It was squishy.

“You’re able to 3D-print different textures as well as different densities with the equipment in the Maker Space,” she said. “Some really fun stuff.”

As the group toured other spaces across the Engineering complex — all the while hearing about the unique clubs that enrich the student experience — she also frequently sprinkled in insider tips that any college student should know, like: “A good relationship with a professor leads to letters of recommendation, or taking a graduate-level class as an undergraduate.”

“Admissions does a great job with their general UNLV tour. But we're able to focus on our thing and really hype it up, which is super fun, because again, no two engineering programs are the same in any college,” Gauthier said. “So being able to talk about the things that make us special, leads to us making a really good connection with a student.”

One of Gauthier’s favorite stops is the drone research laboratory. Zachary Friedmann, a Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering, always makes time for the prospective and admitted students who cram into the tiny space to check out the drones.

As the group filed in, Friedmann explained how the drones they’re developing are meant to isolate radiation sources either before or after an incident involving a radiological release. 

“I wouldn't want to be the guy out there with a Geiger counter trying to pick up pieces of radioactive reactor core,” he shared. “So instead, we're going to try and do it with a drone. Drones are cheap, people are not. That's the whole goal.”

Isaac Mendez, one of the students on the tour who will attend UNLV in the fall, and who had been quietly listening throughout much of the experience, lit up with questions for Friedmann. 

“He really wants to do electrical engineering, but I love how they’ve touched on the different parts of engineering and different disciplines,” said Jacqueline Hernandez, who accompanied Mendez, her son, on the tour. “I can tell it’s piqued his interest in a variety of different disciplines. So, I’m curious to find out if he’s going to want to stick with electrical or if he’s going in a different direction since the tour.”

Beyond the success the team has achieved through the Spotlight tour, they’ve upped their social media game, promoting Engineering programs, recruitment events and student clubs through trendy and fun videos. They’ve also recently developed a newsletter that goes out to local high school students and guidance counselors.

If the sky was the limit — and a new community or industry partner is cultivated — De Vera has plans and ideas to do even more.

“One thing that is coming to the forefront, is a Spanish-speaking presentation as well as Spanish materials, because that's a lot of our community here in Las Vegas,” she said, adding that ESAs Christian Santiago Moran and Jesus Ortega recently created a fully-Spanish presentation — and showcased it to a group of 20 prospective students — for the first time. Blundell, who is Canadian, has also suggested more support for the international student community.

Adding more team members to their numbers, however, is always top of mind for De Vera.

And, for those who are interested in applying, the ESAs say it’s one of the best investments they’ve made — more fulfilling than any other on-campus positions.

“You're changing other people's lives. You're changing the community in a sense,” said Gauthier. “There's no studying on company time here, guys. I'm working, I'm talking, I’m engaging with students every time I ‘clock in.’ I lost my voice probably more times than I can count on our tours, but it’s worth it. We're doing something impactful."